An Unusual Pupil
by RedDragon30000
Summary: AU where Red Dragon encounter's the Headmaster as a new pupil in his school. The Headmaster and SPLAT are astonished when they meet a new pupil who has been enrolled later than the others. Her differences from the other pupils ensure that the school year will be an interesting one.
1. Chapter 1

**An Unusual Pupil**

**Chapter 1**

The Headmaster was staring fixedly down at the playground, rather intrigued to witness the arrival of a new pupil. What interested him the most was that she had been enrolled into his school a few days later than everyone else, and by the school's resident prodigy. She must have stood out somehow, for Mr Brent to have taken an interest in her welfare. The girl herself stood out from the other new pupils he had so far seen this term by the fact that she was wearing dark glasses, just like he was. When the girl was brought to his office, he would have to get her to remove them, otherwise he would not be able to hypnotise her, like he planned to do. Seeing that Rose and Jeff had her in hand, the Headmaster turned away from the window and sat down behind his desk, studying the file he had received about the girl only yesterday.

He scanned it carefully, frowning as he considered her name. He was certain that he had seen it before and was determined to discover where as soon as possible. Her home situation also fascinated the Headmaster, as she was listed as a resident of Mr Brent's household. This made things a lot easier. Since it seemed she did not have any immediate family, any questionable activity related to the school would not find its way to people who were entirely focussed on the girl.

The Headmaster was startled out of his musings by a forceful knock on his office door. Snapping out "Enter!" he folded his hands and watched as Rose and Jeff pushed the new girl into his office and closed the door behind her. Unlike the insolent Miss Glass he had encountered a few days ago, this girl remained silent. While she was clearly attempting to show him respect by waiting for him to speak, the Headmaster also gained the strong impression that the girl was studying him intently, just as he was studying her. Eventually he waved a hand towards the empty chair in front of his desk, ordering curtly "Sit down". She did so at once, yet sat on the edge of the chair, tense and watchful.

Studying her file once more, the Headmaster looked up at the girl, and began his usual interview.

"Elizabeth Blake Taylor. You are living in the same residence as Mr Wallace Brent?"

At his question, the girl spoke for the first time, answering briefly and respectfully.

"I am, Sir"

It took the Headmaster a few moments longer than it normally did to ask his next question, as he was so preoccupied with her completely unusual voice. Her voice had a very harsh edge, and she hissed slightly whenever she said the letter 'S'. Clearly, she had some kind of speech impediment, but it was one the Headmaster had not encountered before.

"You are eight years old. How long have you been part of Mr Brent's household?"

This particular question seemed to make her uncomfortable for some reason, as Elizabeth took longer to reply than she had with the first question.

"I have lived with Mr Brent for six months, Sir."

The Headmaster nodded thoughtfully to himself. He had gained the basic knowledge he wanted about Miss Taylor, he would find out more about her in the days to come, he was certain. Withdrawing the usual test from his desk drawer, the Headmaster was glad when she began it without protest or any irrelevant comments, as Miss Glass had done. Once she had finished, the Headmaster studied her answers. While she was not a genius like Wallace Brent, she was slightly above average in intelligence. Knowing of Mr Brent's thirst for knowledge and hard work, it was more than likely that he had encouraged her to study. Dropping the test back onto his desk, the Headmaster prepared himself to hypnotise the girl. This was the time he always savoured, when he dominated the mind of the newest pupil sitting in front of his desk, another person to control, and another asset to his plans. First, however, he had to get her to remove her dark glasses. He decided on a direct approach.

"Why are you wearing dark glasses? They are not part of the school uniform and should not be worn."

Elizabeth answered him quickly.

"My glasses are medically needed; my eyes are overly sensitive and hurt in bright light."

Too quickly. She had covered her nervousness well, but the Headmaster _knew _she was lying, and he decided to enlighten her. He raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"Indeed? That is unfortunate."

His voice sharpened suddenly, as he snapped out:

"_So why is this information not in your file?_"

Elizabeth gasped and physically jerked at this sudden question, she had clearly not expected the Headmaster to catch onto her lie so quickly. The Headmaster was surprised when a sudden spasm of rage crossed the girl's face. She abruptly tugged off her glasses, almost snapping them with the force she used. Now it was obvious why she had worn them. For the first time in his life, the Headmaster was rendered utterly speechless. Her eyes were utterly inhuman. The closest animal he could compare them to was a cat, as her pupils were slits, instead of the normal circular shape. She had no white or irises, instead the rest of her eyes were intense, fiery amber.

When the Headmaster stayed silent for a few moments longer, Elizabeth suddenly spoke. Now her tone was a lot less respectful than it had been, as if she felt that she did not need to keep up a facade any longer.

"I am impressed; most people would have either run from me or branded me a monster and tried to kill me. Why are you so _different _from the rest of them?"

While he very much wanted to, the Headmaster knew that to attempt to address her disrespect could turn this meeting into a disaster. He would deal with that later. The Headmaster stood up, becoming more animated as he could not hide the excitement he felt about having a hybrid _right in front of him_.

"What makes _me _different? I will not act like those emotional fools; you are clearly not any kind of monster. You are a hybrid, a mixture of human and non-human DNA. Do you have any idea of the implications, of how priceless you are to those well-versed in science? There is so much to be learned from you!"

While the Headmaster had been saying this, he moved from behind his desk, moving closer to the girl. Unfortunately, moving close to her turned out to be a big mistake. She jumped to her feet, her chair toppling backwards and stepped back from him, trembling very slightly. Her voice shook too, as she gasped:

"S-stay away f-from me!"

She raised her hands, and the Headmaster was shocked into silence for the second time that morning. Claws suddenly erupted from the ends of her fingers, quite long and wickedly sharp. Elizabeth grimaced as this happened, the ends of her fingers bleeding slightly as her claws fought their way into the open. The Headmaster stood utterly still, knowing that if he said or did anything that the girl viewed as threatening, she would likely try to attack him. Slowly, he raised his hands in a placating gesture, and replied to her terrified demand gently and calmly.

"I am not your enemy, child. I will not hurt you."

Elizabeth stood as still as he was, seemingly considering what he had just said. Then she surprised the Headmaster yet again, by darting forwards suddenly and yanking at his waistcoat, attempting to gain a closer view of his face. The Headmaster was sure that she was attempting to see if he was lying. If it had been any other pupil, he would not have allowed them to maintain such a hold on his clothes, and he would have shaken them off by now. However, he did not want Elizabeth to see him as a threat, and did not attempt to remove her grip. Instead, as a gesture of goodwill, he removed his own dark glasses. This action, and what she seemed to see in his face, convinced her that the Headmaster had meant what he said. Slowly, she withdrew her claws from the Headmaster's waistcoat, wincing at the holes she had left in the material. The Headmaster paid no heed to the damage she had done. Instead, he put his glasses back on and glanced at her hands, stating quietly:

"Elizabeth, your fingers are bleeding."

Dazedly, she looked down at her hands, wincing slightly. Clearly, she had been so focussed on assessing the Headmaster, that she had not noticed that particular detail, even though she had clearly felt the pain her claws had caused her. Grimacing, the Headmaster pulled out his handkerchief, and held out a hand. He did not want to stain anything, yet he believed that if he could get Elizabeth to view him as an ally, someone who was on her side, she would be a lot easier to deal with. She hesitated for a few moments, before holding out her hands, and allowing the Headmaster to clean her fingers, retracting her claws just afterwards. Righting her fallen chair, the Headmaster gestured towards it, and Elizabeth sat down again, much more relaxed than she had been before.

While the Headmaster had been initially planning to hypnotise her, he would not do so now. To begin with, he was not certain that he _could _hypnotise her, as she was clearly not completely human. Also, if he tried to do so now, it was very likely that she would view such an act as a threat, and attack him. Throwing his stained handkerchief into the rubbish bin, he resumed his own seat, considering what to do with her. It would be dangerous to allow her into assembly, as she was not under his control, and would know that he was hypnotising his pupils. Much as he did not want her corrupted by that rabble of children who could not be hypnotised, the only solution was to place her with them. He was glad that he had split those children into separate classes, as this way she would not be with all of them at once. Having made his decision, he decided to enlighten Elizabeth, who was watching him nervously. It was a subtle indication that she trusted him, as she had not replaced her glasses as he had done, and kept her eyes uncovered.

"I believe it would be in your best interests that you are kept away from large groups of people, it is clear that you would feel threatened, and it would be hard to hide what you are in that circumstance. Therefore, it is best that you not participate in assembly. Instead, you will complete some extra work in the library. You will not be on your own, as there are other children who are also barred from assembly. You will do your work with them."

While he waited for Elizabeth's reaction to his decision, he contemplated which class to place her in. Ideally, he wanted her as close as possible to his office, so that he could deal with any issues that arose. As he finally fixed on the class he would put her, Elizabeth spoke up.

"I...thanks Sir. It will be a lot easier to hide things that way."

The Headmaster nodded in acceptance of her answer and quickly wrote a short note, before he rose to his feet with the note in his hand.

"I have decided which class to place you in. I will take you there, after we retrieve your bag from the school office."

Elizabeth looked surprised that the Headmaster knew it was there, and he smirked slightly as he replied:

"Mr Brent obtained my permission to leave your bag there, as it was not yet decided which class you would be in."

Opening his office door, he motioned for her to follow him, intending to lead her to the school office. She replaced her dark glasses and followed after him. Once her bag had been retrieved, he led her towards the classroom she had been assigned to. She hid behind his gowned figure slightly as he opened the door, wary of being thrust into a room full of strangers. The Headmaster cast her an amused look, before lightly seizing her shoulder, and hauling her into the room and in front of him. The class teacher stood from his desk, taking the note that the Headmaster gave him, as the Headmaster intoned:

"Mr Venables, you have a new pupil. Make sure that you follow the directions I have given you _completely_, it is vital that you do so."

Mr Venables studied the note carefully for a few moments, before replying to the Headmaster's announcement.

"Of course, Headmaster. Barney, move to the desk behind you. Elizabeth, you can sit next to Lloyd."

Elizabeth glanced uncertainly up at the Headmaster, who squeezed her shoulder slightly, and nodded towards the empty chair. Taking a deep breath, she moved towards the chair next to Lloyd, glancing at him nervously as she sat down. Giving her a reassuring nod, the Headmaster turned and left the classroom, striding towards the Prefect's room. He also had to give detailed instructions to them as well; otherwise they might make her too angry, and cause her to expose what she was. He knew that with _her _in his school, things had become a lot more complicated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Once the morning period was over, Mr Venables instructed Lloyd to have Elizabeth sit at the table he and his friends occupied in the dining hall for lunch. If Lloyd was annoyed about having a stranger thrust into his group of friends, he didn't show it. Instead, he waited patiently until Elizabeth had packed her bag and led her to the dining hall. Once they had both obtained trays, Elizabeth followed Lloyd to the table he was sharing with his friends. What both impressed and worried her was that they did not show what they thought about having her invade their table. All of their faces, including Lloyd's, were utterly blank. Sitting down with her tray, Lloyd followed suit and made an announcement to the group as a whole.

"This is Elizabeth; the Headmaster put her into our class today."

She wondered if the other children on the table would introduce themselves, but they remained silent, and oddly watchful. At last, Lloyd broke the awkward silence by asking Elizabeth a question in a manner that was almost over-casual.

"So the Headmaster took you to our class today, what did you think of him?"

Elizabeth glanced nervously over her shoulder, and then lowered her voice, admitting quietly:

"He scares me. I tried to hide something about my life when he was interviewing me, but he knew I was lying right away, and made me tell him."

At this admission, the children around the table, including Lloyd, instantly seemed to relax, and the blankness which they had used to hide their emotions dropped away completely. A small, chubby girl replied to Elizabeth's declaration.

"I'm not surprised he scared you, he's a very creepy man!"

She grinned and held out her hand, also jerking her head to include the girl next to her.

"I'm Ingrid, and the girl next to me is Mandy."

Elizabeth smiled nervously and briefly shook Ingrid's hand. A tall fair-haired boy lounging next to Mandy introduced himself as Ian, while a small, nervous boy next to Lloyd introduced himself as Harvey, Lloyd's brother. As he did so, Elizabeth recognised her own nervousness and uncertainty and resolved to keep an eye on him. While she knew that very few people would take an interest in her well-being, she was used to that, and was determined to assist Harvey when she could. Half-way through finishing lunch, the other children around the table suddenly became wary, and Elizabeth realised that they were looking at someone behind her. Before she could turn and see who it was, a warm familiar voice drifted over her shoulder.

"I see you're getting on well, kiddo. I thought I would come say hello."

Although the rest of the table could not see it, her eyes lit up behind her glasses, and a wide grin stretched across her face. Having her greatest secret exposed by the Headmaster, and having to deal with a number of strangers had made her feel tense and apprehensive. Encountering such a welcome and much-loved person evaporated such negative influences like hot water poured over snow. Almost throwing herself at him, her delighted squeal cut through the near-silence of the dining hall.

"Wally!"

He caught her easily as she cannoned into his tall, wiry frame, his face reddening deeply as everyone in the dining hall looked in their direction. It looked like the prefects would soon descend on them to reprimand Elizabeth for making so much noise, but a widespread glare from the boy she was clinging onto halted them where they were. Lloyd and the others were astonished at such a reception from the girl who had been so nervous and quiet only a few moments before. While they were wary about having a 'goody-goody' so close to their sanctuary of a table, they were also intrigued as well.

Wallace Brent was very much an enigma in the school, and not just to them. To begin with, he was the oldest person there, apart from the teachers and the Headmaster. They knew he was a 'goody-goody' because of what he would sometimes recite if certain questions were asked, yet the Headmaster and Prefects seemed to leave him alone, even though he would wear clothes that were not school uniform. It was rare that they encountered him, as apart from the age-difference, he was some kind of genius and completed his own work and projects in the library. They never got a chance to observe him sneakily when they were doing extra work, as whenever Rose would lead them in, he would pack up his materials and politely and quietly excuse himself.

He held Elizabeth for a few moments longer, aware that she needed reassurance. Finally he aimed a friendly grin at the rest of the table, ruffled Elizabeth's hair, and motioned her back to her seat. She scowled at Wallace's retreating back, but it was clear to everyone else that she wasn't actually angry, she was just being playful. As she resumed her lunch, Harvey looked anxiously at her hair, before speaking up hesitantly.

"You might want to tidy your hair before Rose comes and takes us to the library. If you don't look neat you might get into trouble."

Elizabeth felt that getting into trouble for looking slightly messy was utterly ridiculous, and scowled for real this time. Reluctantly, she accepted a comb from Mandy with a smile, before combing her hair back into a neat pony tail. As she handed it back, Lloyd suddenly burst out with a question that he seemed to have been holding in for a long while.

"How on _earth _do you know Wallace? You only got here this morning!"

Elizabeth grinned at his bewilderment and impatience before answering him simply and quietly.

"I live with him."

Lloyd frowned, before demanding:

"_Why _do you live with him? You two clearly aren't related."

The faintly amused expression on her face vanished, as Elizabeth suddenly went rigid and surprised the entire table with a forceful answer.

"I don't want to talk about it. Stop asking me."

Lloyd opened his mouth again, but shut it when Mandy elbowed him forcefully in the ribs, sending a glare towards Ingrid when it seemed that she would ask instead of Lloyd. Seeing the state that Elizabeth was in, Ian defused the sudden tension that had sprung up by smirking at Lloyd, and remarking mockingly:

"Didn't you learn about different families Lloyd? You said you knew all about them last week!"

While Lloyd spluttered indignantly, Elizabeth made the mistake of catching Harvey's eye and they both dissolved into muffled giggles. While this scene that been occurring, Ingrid had been keeping a watch on the rest of the dining hall, and suddenly hissed urgently,

"Watch out! Prefect alert!"

Immediately Harvey and Elizabeth stopped sniggering and sat up in their chairs as everyone else made an effort to look serious. While Elizabeth did not know the prefects as well as Lloyd and the others did, she knew that they could be unpleasant and somewhat creepy. She had experienced an ugly scene with Rose as she had first entered the playground, and was wary of the rest of the prefects. Rose strode up to their table and passed an eye across the group, her lips curling into a sneer. She did not even bother to speak to them, merely gestured towards the food hatch. With a subtle gesture, Harvey indicated that Elizabeth should copy what he did, and she did so perfectly, handing in her empty tray and retrieving her bag with the rest of the children. Without a word, Rose led the way to the library.

Once they were all seated, Rose spoke to Elizabeth.

"Because you arrived at school later than everyone else, you will need to catch up on what you missed. Therefore, you will complete some of this work now, and the rest you will complete as extra homework. Is that clear?"

While the content of what Rose had said did not bother her, the way she said it most certainly did. She had spoken slightly mockingly the entire way through, as if Elizabeth was not capable of understanding simple instructions. She guessed that Rose was trying to get a rise out of her, but was not going to give her the satisfaction. Responding with an overly polite smile, Elizabeth said sweetly:

"Yes, that's perfectly clear Rose."

Rose looked as if she would try to retaliate over Elizabeth using such a tone, but was interrupted by the movement of somebody behind Elizabeth. For a moment a hand brushed her shoulder, and then withdrew as the person exited the library. Having caught the scent of a familiar woollen jumper, Elizabeth knew that it had been Wallace. His lingering reassurance was enough to bolster her courage, and she determined not to give Rose any ammunition to get her into trouble. She worked away steadily as soon as Rose told her what she needed to complete, knowing that if she did not keep herself busy, it would be easier to react badly to what Rose was saying. Even with the tension between Rose and Elizabeth, things might have gone alright that session, if Rose had not targeted Harvey.

Elizabeth was sitting next to Harvey, as she knew how vindictive Rose was, and wanted to help him if she could. Even though she was concentrating hard on her own work, she was also keeping an eye on what else was going on, so she did not miss things when Rose began harassing Harvey for getting his sums wrong. Elizabeth felt her temper rising as Rose continued, and abruptly stopped writing, clenching her hand so hard that her pen completely snapped in two. She couldn't hold back any longer, even though she knew it was dangerous to oppose the prefects. Ignoring Lloyd's frantic head-shaking and Mandy's worried glance she suddenly snapped:

"Leave him alone! Not everyone is as perfect as you!"

Rose spun round from Harvey, her eyes flashing. Striding up to Elizabeth, she answered angrily and almost in disbelief, as if she could not fathom that someone was actually opposing her.

"Get on with your work! This does not concern you!"

Elizabeth instantly sprang to her feet, snarling a clipped, angry response.

"Yes it does! Harvey is my friend and I won't let you treat him like that."

When Rose next spoke, her voice had become almost toneless, not with the angry attitude she had displayed before.

"All pupils shall obey the Prefects. The Prefects are the voice of the Headmaster. Now sit down!"

Elizabeth refused to back down. Even though it would mean more trouble for her, as long as Rose was focussed on her and her disobedience, she wouldn't be targeting Harvey. It seemed now that she had pushed Rose too far, as she suddenly grabbed her arm, and snapped:

"That does it; I am taking you to the Headmaster!"

Elizabeth could see that everyone else around the table suddenly seemed scared and apprehensive, but the only reaction from her was a wordless growl and an attempt to shake Rose from her arm. Since Rose was bigger and stronger than her, this had no effect, and she dragged Elizabeth from the library and towards the Headmaster's office.

The Headmaster had been reading through some of Mr Brent's research, when a knock sounded at his office door, along with the sound of scuffling. Frowning, he opened the door and was confronted by Rose, who had a tight hold on the arm of Elizabeth Taylor. Right now, it was difficult to distinguish who was angrier than the other. Turning to Rose, he rapped out,

"What has happened?"

As Rose recited what had occurred in the library, it looked as if Elizabeth would interrupt. A suddenly raised hand from the Headmaster silenced her, and seemed to increase her anger. When she had finished, the Headmaster scowled at Elizabeth and said curtly:

"I will deal with this now. Return to the library, and instruct one of the children to pack her things."

With a last glare at Elizabeth, Rose released her arm and flounced back towards the library. Elizabeth glared after her, before being interrupted by the Headmaster, who seized her by the shoulder and pushed her forcefully into the chair she had been sitting in this morning. He loomed over her, causing a small amount of nervousness the creep into her rage as he did not say or do anything else for a few more moments. When he spoke at last, he did so with a certain cold anger that Elizabeth had not heard that morning.

"I believe this must be some kind of record. It is your _first day_ in my school, and you are already in trouble. Now, when you return to the library, you will apologise to Rose."

Elizabeth went rigid in her chair, shaking with anger, as she snarled heatedly:

"Apologise?! I am not going to apologise to that _bit_-"

"_Elizabeth!_"

The Headmaster's irate reprimand effectively cut her off before she could actually finish the insult. He leaned forwards, and hissed dangerously:

"That is _enough _from you! You will write some lines as punishment for being disrespectful to my prefect and you _will _apologise to Rose. If you do _not _apologise, I will be forced to inform Mr Brent that he will have to retrieve you from school at a later time, as you will be serving detention. Now, what is your decision?"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth, both chastened and angry. The Headmaster _had _her, and he knew it. If he had informed her that she would be receiving a punishment that would not have impacted on Wallace, she would have refused to apologise. However, while Wallace might agree that she had done the right thing by defending Harvey, he would have been very disappointed that she had earned a detention on her _first day_ of school. She could not let that happen. Reluctantly, she growled:

"I will apologise to Rose."

The Headmaster nodded curtly in acceptance of her answer, and moved behind his desk, retrieving some lined paper and a pen which he placed so that both articles were on her side of the desk. Sitting in his own chair, the Headmaster frostily detailed her punishment.

"You will write the sentence 'I will not be disrespectful to Rose Carter' a total of one hundred times. You may begin."

At his declaration Elizabeth reluctantly picked up the pen, glowering at the number of times she had to write the sentence. Even though she was so angry, she knew better than to take that anger out on her lines, as from what she had learned about the Headmaster, he would likely order her to do them again. Once she had finished, the Headmaster picked them up and scanned them carefully. Replacing them on top of his desk, he looked back up at her, and now he did not seem as angry as he had been when he had pulled her into his office.

"Good, you have completed your lines to a perfect standard. You will return to the library and apologise to Rose."

His expression darkened suddenly, as did his voice when he next spoke.

"If you misbehave again today, you _will _be serving a detention, so I do not want to hear of you doing anything else. Am I understood?"

Elizabeth swallowed nervously at this, before answering the Headmaster in a subdued tone of voice.

"I understand, Sir."

The Headmaster nodded briskly at her answer, before waving towards his office door. Taking the hint, Elizabeth inclined her head and left his office, returning to the library. Once she entered, Lloyd and the others stared at her, as if they could not believe that she had actually returned intact from the Headmaster's office. Elizabeth _really _did not want to do what she had to do next, but since the alternative was something she didn't want happening, she did not have a choice. Taking a deep breath, she marched up the Rose, and managed to snap out an apology that sounded as genuine as she could make it while she was still angry.

"I am sorry that I was disrespectful Rose."

She wondered if Rose was planning not to accept the apology, just to get her into fresh trouble, but it seemed that she didn't want to waste anymore time. She nodded once, and said brusquely:

"Return to your classroom. Lloyd has packed your materials."

Elizabeth took her bag from Lloyd with a smile and was half-way out of the room with the others, before Rose suddenly called her back.

"Dispose of your broken pen; others must make use of this table as well."

Elizabeth was certain that Rose was being so petty entirely on purpose, but she was not going to retaliate, as that would only get her into trouble again. Gritting her teeth, she picked up her snapped pen and dropped it into the bin by the door. As they finally left the library, Lloyd bit back the questions he dearly wanted to ask Elizabeth, as she was clearly still very angry. Lloyd could guess that what she had _wanted _to do with that broken pen was throw it at Rose's head, and he didn't blame her at all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Thankfully, as she did not have to deal with the tension of having Rose close by once she had left the library, Elizabeth was able to calm herself down enough to appear completely composed when she returned to her classroom. She knew that she would not have been able to fool Wally this way, as he knew her so well, even after only knowing her for six months. However, she completely deceived Mr Venables, who did not appear to notice that there was anything different about the way she was acting. Once Elizabeth and Lloyd were seated, Mr Venables instructed the class to write everything they knew about the woodland habitat.

When she was working, Elizabeth employed the same level of dedication and concentration that she had shown in the library, but again, she was also aware of what was going on around her. Like Lloyd, she was thinking about what she would write, while the rest of the class were already working, at a strangely uniform pace. Because of this, she was able to see that Lloyd was throwing suspicious glances at a girl in the row behind them. Something to think about later, there was clearly _somethin_g going on that she did not yet understand. Once the end of class was announced, Elizabeth was amused to see that Lloyd was practically the first one out of the classroom. It seemed that he disliked the school, which was another puzzle to solve it seemed. Well, she could think about that later, she had her own issues to deal with right now.

She waited until nearly everyone had left the classroom, before leaving it herself. Once she emerged into the corridor, she was struck by how much busier it was compared with that morning, when there had been no-one there. She added herself to the line of pupils marching into the playground, but when she got to the entrance of the school, she stopped, tensing slightly. Now, the pupils were all crowded together, and she knew that she would overwhelm her senses if she plunged into the middle of them now, trying to find Wally. She had been able to endure them this morning, as they had all been organised into neat lines and circles, but now they were completely chaotic. She stayed where she was, scanning the crowd for Wally, as she would go to him if he was clear of all the pupils.

She was startled out of her search by the sound of a measured and approving voice beside her.

"You do not rush into things I see. Very sensible."

Elizabeth turned nervously towards the Headmaster, remembering that she had been in trouble the last time she had seen him. While his face was expressionless, he did not _seem_ to be angry with her any longer. Timidly, she replied to his declaration.

"I do not, Sir. I learned about my weaknesses the hard way."

This last sentence also held a great deal of bitterness, as Elizabeth remembered a number of occasions where she had rushed into things without considering her own limitations, with disastrous consequences. Spying Wally emerging from the crowd in the playground, she only just stopped herself from rushing to him. She had no wish to appear disrespectful to the Headmaster, not when she knew how strict he could be.

Thankfully, the Headmaster appeared to appreciate her respect in waiting for dismissal, and waved a hand decisively, the faintest of smiles appearing on his face.

"Go home. I hope you are better behaved for the rest of the week."

Inclining her head, Elizabeth shot off across the playground, greeting Wally with the same enthusiasm that she had shown in the dining hall. He caught her, smiling, before taking her hand, and leading her to the school gates.

The Headmaster watched them go, thinking busily. At last he clicked his fingers commandingly, and Rose and Jeff appeared instantly at his side. He began to give them additional orders, in a soft, thoughtful voice.

"You are to keep an eye on Elizabeth Taylor during school hours, there is much I can learn from how she acts. She is intimidated by me, and would notice if I followed and observed her, but she will not find it so easy to discover that you are shadowing her."

Having confirmed that his Prefects understood his orders, the Headmaster dismissed them, and entered the school once more.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth was very glad to be home, and quickly ran up to her room after removing her shoes. All the tension that she had experienced since entering the school that morning drained away, as she relaxed in surroundings that were now so safe and familiar. She changed out of her uniform as soon as she was able, not wanting to be confronted by a reminder of the stressful day she had just endured. As she pulled on her jumper, Wally knocked on her door, and she called for him to enter in a somewhat muffled voice. She sat down on her bed as she finished tugging on her jumper, noting that Wally appeared concerned about something. She waited for him to reveal what that was, as she never got anywhere by trying to rush things when her guardian was thinking. At last, he finally spoke:<p>

"Are you alright? It seemed there was something bothering you today, was it something to do with school?"

Elizabeth smiled sadly, as her mind went back over the day's events, replying somewhat absently to Wally's questions.

"In a way, what bothered me _was_ something to do with school, but not in the way you might think."

Finally she pulled herself together, as she wanted to get this issue sorted now, not work herself up by dwelling on it needlessly.

"He knows what I am. He found out this morning."

While Elizabeth's answer was somewhat cryptic, Wally had no need to ask for clarification. He could almost _hear_ the capital letter, only one person in the school was ever spoken of with such amounts of respect and fear. While Wally was worried what would happen to Elizabeth, now her secret was known, he would not reveal how he felt just yet. For some reason, his ward seemed remarkably calm about having her greatest secret discovered by the Headmaster. Clearly, something had occurred this morning that he was not aware of yet.

"You don't seem to be concerned about that. Why?"

Elizabeth grinned suddenly, looking slightly bewildered. It was the first time she had been in a lighter mood since Wally had entered her room.

"He was so _excited_ when he found out. No-one else has acted that way before when they discover what I am."

Wally felt the worry he was experiencing about this situation drain out of him, as he attempted to reassure Elizabeth about the Headmaster.

"Quite honestly I am not entirely surprised that he acted that way, he is a very scientifically-minded man. I know that, because it's the only way he can understand my research and give me feedback on it."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement to this, removing her glasses and placing them on her bedside table. She had no need to hide her eyes from Wally, and the lights in the house were not bright enough to cause her eyes a problem, not like the light in school and outside could do. Now that they had talked about the Headmaster's reaction, Elizabeth wasn't worried about things anymore, and showed this by snatching her favourite book from her bookshelf and stretching herself out on her bed. Wally chuckled fondly at her familiar action, before reminding her that dinner would be at seven and kissing her gently on the forehead. Elizabeth barely noticed what Wally said and did, as she was already so deeply in her book, but she smiled as he left her room, glad of such an affectionate act.

Dinner this particular night was a much more relaxed affair than it had been last night, where Elizabeth had been very tense and nervous, despite Wally's attempts to calm her down. He had wanted to bring her to school himself, as it was her first day, but had been forced to stay at home in an attempt to fix the fuse box, where all of the switches had tripped after a blown blub and refused to be put back again.

Now, she was much happier, and babbled away about the book she had been reading before dinner. Wally smiled to himself as she did so, reminding her every few minutes not to talk with her mouth full. At the end of dinner, Wally reminded her that it was _her_ turn to do the washing up, and she scowled as she started to pile the dirty dishes by the sink. She wanted to finish her book, and wished that she had been clearing the table tonight instead of doing the washing up. This was because she was able to clear the table very quickly, and with her superior reflexes, was able to catch anything she accidently dropped or knocked over. When she was washing up, she had to be through, otherwise Wally would get her to do the dishes again if she tried to do them sloppily. She growled under her breath, one hand drying a plate, while the she used the other to express her restless energy, her claws rasping across the cupboard door under the sink. Wally was reading the evening newspaper and absently scolded her in the same way he did every night she washed up.

"Liz, stop scratching the cupboard."

As she did every time this event occurred, Elizabeth ignored him for a few moments, and then sheaved her claws, sending Wally a cheeky grin.

It was only when she was getting ready for bed that she started thinking about a number of odd things she had noticed about the school and its pupils. To begin with, she was startled at how much power the Prefects had over the other pupils. The way they acted, it was almost as if they were teachers, and the only answer you received if you questioned their authority was: 'The Prefects are the Voice of the Headmaster, they _must_ be obeyed!'. She did not understand why he needed children to act with so much authority, and vowed to discover the reason. An issue which also had taken her notice was how much Lloyd and his friends seemed to be treated like outsiders. She was determined to find out why, and her efforts already had a boost, because the group had seemingly accepted her as one of their own, even if it was tentative at this point in time. Slipping into bed, she began to make plans, continuing in this action until she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next few days gave Elizabeth ample time and opportunities to discover the answers to what she wanted to know. Lloyd and his friends were at the top of her list for the moment, as it was the easiest to observe how the rest of the school behaved towards the group, which now included her. Break times and lunch time were the times of day where the difference between the other pupils and the group she was now part of were easy to observe.<p>

Her second day of school Elizabeth had attempted to join in with a circle of pupils that were the closest to the school gates, but she had been rebuffed. None of them said anything, but she could practically _feel_ their silent hostility as they looked at her, and also a sort of fear, as if they were afraid of what would happen if they did _not_ reject her. As she stood there, a hand grabbed her arm, and she struggled to fight off the instinct to strike at whoever had a hold on her arm, turning towards them quickly. Relief filled her when she realised that it was Ingrid, as she had been worried that it had been one of the Prefects, as she felt that she had experienced enough run-ins with them for the time being. Ingrid tugged gently at the arm she held, and Elizabeth allowed her to lead her to where Lloyd and his friends were standing in a circle of their own. Once she was there, Elizabeth didn't waste time on pleasantries, instead she jerked her thumb at the circle of pupils Ingrid had led her away from and demanded:

"Are they _always_ like that with people who aren't allowed in assembly?"

Lloyd quickly recovered from the shock of Elizabeth's sharp question and answered it quietly, the others nodding in silent agreement.

"Always. Once they find out you're banned, it's like a wall is put up between you and them. It happened to all of us."

Elizabeth frowned as she considered Lloyd's answer and her encounter just now. There was something _else_ which made them keep away, she was sure of it. While she pondered this, Ingrid and Harvey attempted to persuade Lloyd out of getting them to complete some extra work, as he explained that he was worried that the group might fall behind the rest of the school if they didn't start now. Elizabeth suddenly broke into the good natured argument that Ian was intensifying for his own amusement, her excited interjection cutting through what Ian, Ingrid and Harvey were saying.

"I know what else keeps them away!"

Lloyd shushed the three of them when it looked as if they would start complaining about Elizabeth interrupting them, knowing that anything new about the school was vital for SPLAT to learn. When she had the group's attention, Elizabeth elaborated on what she had just worked out.

"It isn't just being banned from assembly that keeps the rest of the school away, they're _afraid_ of interacting with you. When Ingrid pulled me away just now, I saw some of the circle looking nervously at the Prefects. I think they were worried the Prefects would make things unpleasant for them if they _didn't_ reject me from their group."

This revelation silenced SPLAT, as they thought about what Elizabeth had just worked out. Lloyd had to admit that it made sense, wary as he was about trusting information from someone they had known only a short while. He knew Elizabeth wasn't a spy for the Headmaster, as she acted completely differently from the children who obeyed the Headmaster completely. Even though the Headmaster's apparent personal interest in her made him nervous, there was most likely an acceptable reason for that, one that he would feel better about knowing. Lloyd determined to bring up what Elizabeth had just deduced in the next SPLAT meeting, as that way they could examine things more carefully than they were able to standing in the playground and in danger of being over-heard by the Prefects. As Lloyd thanked Elizabeth politely for her information, Ian defused the serious atmosphere that had developed by inquiring:

"So, are you as hopelessly addicted to the Eddy Hair Show as the rest of these morons, or have you seen the light and moved onto more boring TV shows?"

Elizabeth desperately smothered a laughing fit behind her hand at this question, before admitting that she too, was pretty much hooked on the show. Harvey brightened at this, and excitedly began questioning what she liked the best about the show. Elizabeth allowed herself to be drawn into a discussion about the show, as she wanted something to distract her from her investigations.

Elizabeth resumed her contemplations in the dining hall during lunch. As she collected her tray, she had the opportunity to scan the dining hall and make observations. Once again, she and everyone else on the table were clearly isolated from the rest of the school. All the other tables in the dining hall were completely full, with not an empty chair at any of the tables. Yet the table that _they_ were seated at was half empty, even though there was space for at least six more pupils. Clearly, the important piece of this puzzle was assembly. Somehow, she was determined to find out what was so special. She did not want to involve anyone else with this, as she worked better alone and believed she would find it easier to avoid being caught. As she began to make plans, she brooded over her lunch and her inaction caught the wrong kind of attention.

Rose was scanning the dining hall, making sure that everything was running smoothly. Instantly, her eyes were drawn to the table of troublemakers, noticing an intensely focussed expression on the face of Elizabeth Taylor. It was obvious that she was up to something, and she felt smugly gratified that she had something concrete to report to the Headmaster. She hoped the Headmaster allowed her to catch Elizabeth breaking the rules, as it would be satisfying to make things difficult for someone who had stolen the Headmaster's attention, and undermined Rose whenever she could...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Elizabeth decided that it would be best to keep quiet at least until her second week of school, as this way it would be more difficult for anyone to suspect that she was actively plotting something. She had no idea why she was feeling so apprehensive about this, as it wasn't as if she would actually be breaking any rules. Yes, the Headmaster was not allowing her in assembly, but he had said nothing about her _observing_ it. Obviously she would have to make her move when they were all having extra work, but she would have to leave a little time for Wally to depart the school, as she didn't want him to know that she was sneaking around.

It was a Tuesday in her second week of school that Elizabeth decided she was ready. She had planned how she would be outside the library in order to observe assembly, and how long she had to do so without arousing Rose's suspicion. She had to be careful here, as she had seen Rose watching her vigilantly more than once. The Head Prefect was certainly not a fool. Although she longed to share her plans with Lloyd and the rest of the group, she had not done so. Even though it was likely they might have been able to assist her in some way, she didn't want to involve them, just in case she was caught. They had enough problems already in the school without her adding to it.

When the six of them were marched into the library, Elizabeth mentally prepared herself to enact her plan. As always, Wally gathered up his papers and exited the library, and as always, his fingers fleetingly brushed Elizabeth's shoulder. At his touch her resolve strengthened. She hoped she had covered everything possible, but she would have no way of knowing until she had set things in motion. Like the others, she obediently began her work at Rose's order, sneaking a look at her watch every ten minutes. When half an hour had passed, she set her plan in operation, now certain that Wally would have left the school. She deliberately snapped her pen in half, needing only to squeeze it a little _too_ tightly. At once Elizabeth let out a loud, annoyed grunt, banging the pen on her desk a few times. Immediately Rose looked up from the book she was reading and ordered tersely:

"Elizabeth Taylor, stop making so much noise and continue with your work!"

Elizabeth stopped banging her pen and replied to Rose in a tone that was both annoyed and insolent.

"I would love to Rose, but I'm afraid I've run out of pens. Otherwise _of course_ I would continue my work."

The other children around the table struggled desperately not to let their amusement show in any way. Elizabeth was the only one out of the six of them who dared to speak that way to the Prefects, and especially to Rose. At her desk by the library doors, Rose glared heatedly at the younger girl who sat smirking in front of her. She would like nothing more than to put her ruthlessly in her place. However, the Headmaster had ordered Rose and the other Prefects not to provoke Elizabeth Taylor in any way, no matter what she did. Since Rose obeyed the Headmaster without question, she had done so, but she struggled to obey her orders when Elizabeth was so _impertinent_.

Through gritted teeth, Rose snapped:

"Go and fetch a replacement from the stock room and stop disrupting this session!"

Elizabeth's smirk grew, as her plan was working perfectly, and her expression was also annoying Rose, which was a definite plus in her book. Her reply was overly respectful and entirely insincere, and Harvey had to bite his hand to stop himself laughing while the others desperately avoided making eye contact with anyone else.

"Thank you for reminding me where to find a replacement, now I can cease worrying about leaving my work incomplete."

With a sweet smile she got up, dropped her newly snapped pen into the bin from a height which produced a deliciously loud _clang_,and swiftly exited the library. Once in the corridor, Elizabeth used the quickest route she knew to get to the hall, knowing that she had a limited amount of time. If she was absent from the library for _too _long, Rose would become suspicious.

Once she got to the corridor where the hall was located, she stopped, peering carefully around the corner to see if the coast was clear. She would only have a look in the hall if there was no-one there. The corridor _seemed_ empty, but she wasn't going to reply on sight alone. Cautiously, she sniffed the air, catching only floor polish and the tangy odour of a liberal amount of varnish on the wooden doors of the hall. No human scents. Good, that meant that no-one was watching.

As quietly as possible, she crept to the hall doors. Lloyd had told her that the children watched films in assembly, and there were blackout curtains drawn across the windows in the hall doors, which made it seem as if Lloyd was correct in what he said. Unhappily, Elizabeth had now come across a problem that hadn't occurred to her before. She was too short to see through the hall windows. She was hoping there would be a gap or something in the curtains, but right now, she was unable to even see the _windows_ let alone through them. Absently releasing an irritated snarl, she quickly came up with a solution. It was risky, but it was the only way she could see through the windows.

Unleashing her claws, she hissed at the pain from her fingers, before digging her claws above her head into the wood of the hall doors and hauling herself upwards. _Now _she could see through the windows, and was delighted to see that there _was _a gap she could use. Peering through it, she saw that Lloyd had been completely wrong about assembly. There was nothing on the stage that could be used to see a film. Instead, the Headmaster was on the stage standing behind a lectern, and he was reading aloud from the book he had set on top of it.

As she watched, fascinated, the combined scents of the Headmaster, teachers, and almost two hundred children slammed their way into her awareness like a battering ram. She released a cry of shock, eyes watering at the intensity and lost her grip on the door. She scrabbled wildly at the door for a few moments, leaving a great many scratch marks on the wood, before landing on her back on the floor of the corridor with a loud _thud_.

She scrambled desperately to her feet, coughing, and heard movement behind her. Spinning round, she encountered Jeff, who was halfway down a staircase near the hall doors, and looking very surprised at seeing her claws, which she had yet to withdraw. He rapidly got over his shock on seeing her claws, his eyes narrowing and a vindictive smile crossing his freckled face. It was very obvious what Elizabeth had been up to, she knew that there was no getting out of this.

"Well, _someone's_ been doing what they shouldn't! You're coming with me, and when assembly is over, we are going to see the Headmaster."

Behind her glasses, Elizabeth's eyes narrowed determinedly. So Jeff thought he could subdue her easily did he? She gritted her teeth, thinking savagely:_ sod this! _If she was going to be in trouble now, she may as well do something more to earn it. Darting forward, she snatched the ever present pen from Jeff's pocket, then shot off down the corridor, shaking her head to get rid of the lingering effect of her nasal overload. As she ran, she hastily retracted her claws. Jeff might have seen them, but she was sure the Headmaster would keep him from telling anyone else.

As she ran, she heard Jeff's voice behind her, but although she was now too far away to hear what he was saying, she heard Sarah's voice answer him. This was bad, if she had more than one Prefect to deal with, it would be harder to keep ahead of them. Elizabeth had a good knowledge of the corridors of the school, as she had made sure to remember as much as she could while she was making her plans. However, as she came close to the staircase which led to the Headmaster's office, she heard the sound of feet running _towards_ her, as well as from behind. Things were getting worse, she wasn't ready for the chase to end this soon, and quickly dropped the pen, wanting her hands free. Suddenly, a solution came to her. Whoever was chasing her would be focussed on what was ahead in the corridor, but not on anything _above_ them.

She didn't have much time, if they saw what she did, her evasion would be for nothing. Releasing her claws once again and ignoring her painful fingers, Elizabeth leapt for the staircase, managing to catch the banisters with her longer reach, and hauling herself up to sit on them. She grinned with satisfaction and retracted her claws as Jeff and Sarah appeared from opposite ends of the corridor, looking around in confusion when she was no-where to be found. Her satisfaction was short lived, as the chase was ended by the one person she hoped would _not_ catch her.

A black-clad arm looped around her chest and swept her firmly off the banisters and onto the stairs behind them. That arm kept her pinned easily, despite her snarls and struggles. Her attempts to free herself were halted when the Headmaster's voice snapped at her irately from behind.

"_Stop that struggling right now! _All you are doing is wasting energy, you have no chance of getting free on your own and I have _no _intention of releasing you."

Elizabeth became rigidly still at once. She could hear the rage in the Headmaster's voice, and feared what he might do if she angered him any further. Gripping her arm with almost bruising force, the Headmaster dragged Elizabeth with him as he descended the stairs to where Jeff and Sarah were still looking bewildered. As soon as they saw the Headmaster, they instantly snapped to attention, Jeff looking slightly worried as he didn't have his pen in his pocket like he _should_ do. Impatiently, the Headmaster gestured further down the corridor and Jeff swiftly spotted his pen lying where Elizabeth had dropped it. He hastily retrieved it and clipped it back into his pocket at the correct angle. The Headmaster nodded in approval, then began to give his Prefects a few additional orders.

"Sarah, inform the caretaker that the hall doors need to be attended to. Jeff, go back to the library and tell Rose that Elizabeth Taylor has been found and I will return her when she and I have had a little talk."

When Sarah and Jeff had gone, the Headmaster spun round abruptly to Elizabeth, and she took a step back as the Headmaster loomed over her, gripping her arms painfully. Although she was unable to see his eyes it was clear that he was furious. Shaking her angrily, he snapped:

"Were you using your brain _at all_ when you decided to observe a session you are _not allowed in_? Now you have experienced for yourself the reason you need to stay away! Was it worth it, exposing what you are that way?"

Elizabeth took refuge in a sulky tone when she answered him, stung by his reprimands, as he was exposing her follies ruthlessly. If she had stopped to consider how angry he was, she would not have attempted to make excuses.

"I don't know why you're so angry, it's not like you gave me a rule about _watching_ assembly."

She yelped suddenly as the Headmaster's hands tightened even further on her arms. Frighteningly, he didn't respond to what she had said, merely squeezed her arms tightly and painfully for a few more moments before abruptly letting go of one of them and yanking her back towards the library. Elizabeth didn't dare say anything else, as his jaw was clenched hard with suppressed rage, and she knew that if she pushed him any further things would end badly for her.

The Headmaster flung open the door of the library with such force that it slammed against the wall, causing Rose and the five children within to jump. Striding into the library, the Headmaster turned his head towards Rose and ordered:

"Wait outside, I must speak with you in a few moments."

Immediately, Rose shut her book and left the library, closing the door behind her. The Headmaster turned his attention back to Elizabeth, who was wishing for once in her life that Rose was still in the room. All at once, the Headmaster pulled out Elizabeth's chair and all but slammed her into it. Still maintaining the grip on her arms, he leaned forward threateningly, his voice shaking with restrained fury.

"_You_ are on your _very last warning_. Step out of line again, and you will discover why no-one in this school _dares_ to cross me. Understood?"

Elizabeth couldn't speak, the terror she felt completely halting her voice. She released a strangled squeak, nodding frantically. Luckily, the Headmaster appeared to accept this, and at last let go of her arms and straightened up, while Elizabeth desperately resisted the urge to rub them. She would not be at all surprised if her arms ended up bruised. Turning from Elizabeth, the Headmaster gazed at the other children around the table, his lip curling with disgust. When he addressed them, his voice throbbed with a deep loathing which made them all shiver.

"_You_! Much as I detest having to leave Elizabeth in the hands of such a disruptive group, I have no choice. Since you seem to have become _friends_, I am giving you an assignment which you should find easy enough. _Keep Elizabeth Taylor out of trouble._ It seems I have been too lenient, but I will no longer put up with the deceitful behaviour I witnessed today."

Once again, the Headmaster addressed Elizabeth, his hissed warning causing her to tremble and shrink back in her chair.

"If your behaviour is brought to my attention again, _you will regret it_!"

Finally, he turned away from Elizabeth and at last left the library, slamming the door behind him. Elizabeth abruptly slumped in her seat, trembling as the terrifying effects of the Headmaster's anger lingered, and would likely do so for a while. Seeing the state she was in, Mandy reached across the table and gently squeezed her hand, while the others murmured sympathetic and soothing words. Lloyd dearly wanted to know what she'd been doing to make the Headmaster so enraged, but knew it would have to wait. It was no good trying to get anything out of her now, she was in no state to even speak, let alone explain things. He smiled and patted her on the shoulder, while Ian, serious for once, pressed a tissue into her hand. Ingrid smiled at her reassuringly and kept a close eye on the door, ready to warn them if it looked like Rose would return.

Harvey worriedly eyed Elizabeth, who still looked terrible and was releasing quiet whimpers of fear. Just as he opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, Ingrid hissed a warning and SPLAT settled back into their seats as Rose re-entered the library.

The Headmaster had questioned Rose thoroughly about what Elizabeth had said and done before she had left the library, dismissing her once he had gained the full story. It was clear that Elizabeth was a lot more intelligent and cunning than he had realized, it was almost embarrassing how she had neatly out-manoeuvred Rose. If only she used that intelligent planning for something that was _useful_, instead of attempting to observe what she had no business seeing. Luckily, from what he had heard from Jeff when he had informed him of what she had done, she had only caught a glimpse of assembly before suffering some kind of sensory overload.

As Rose opened the library door, the Headmaster was gratified to hear quiet whimpers of fear. It was obvious who was producing those sounds, and he smirked in satisfaction at having caused them. Clearly, Elizabeth had not anticipated how terrifying his anger could be, and was now feeling the full effects. Good. If she was that terrified of his anger, she would try her hardest not to cause him any trouble, and the group she was with would obey the order he had given then, not wishing to make things harder for themselves. He scowled as he returned to his office, anger rising again at how close she had come to exposing what he was doing. He had been lucky, if she had attempted to observe things just a few minutes earlier she would have seen him hypnotizing everyone in assembly.

Well, it did not matter now, all she had gained was a reminder of why she should not be close to a large number of people when they were gathered together. This was fascinating, her senses were clearly many times sharper than normal. This train of thought also reminded the Headmaster that he must address the next Prefect's Council, as Jeff had seen her claws. He must make sure that the knowledge of what Elizabeth was did not get repeated to anyone else.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Elizabeth's condition worried SPLAT as they finished their work for the rest of the interrupted session. She was still trembling slightly as she too began to finish her work, her normally neat handwriting barely readable and smudged as her shaking hand brushed against her paper. She was utterly silent now, but she had produced a stream of terrified whimpers a few moments after the Headmaster had left the library, which not even the re-appearance of Rose could halt. Surprisingly, Rose had not ordered her to be silent, but had merely dropped a new pen onto her desk with a smirk.

As they were dismissed and dispersed to their separate classrooms, Lloyd checked the corridor was empty, before whispering:

"What happened? _Something_ must have done, the Headmaster doesn't get that angry for no reason."

Elizabeth kept walking and didn't look at him, but he still heard her answer, a low hissed word:

"_Later!_"

It was the first word she had spoken since the Headmaster had returned her to the library. She wasn't shaking anymore, but she was still pale, still in shock. Lloyd had to admit that _he _was as well. While he had seen the Headmaster angry before, he had never actually seen him openly exhibit that amount of fury. He had also never expected that the fury would be directed at _Elizabeth_. He didn't really mind that the Headmaster and Prefects seemed to leave her alone, especially when she spoke in such a disrespectful way to the Prefects. He knew that if anyone in SPLAT tried that, they would be harshly punished. Nothing happened to Elizabeth when _she_ did so, and SPLAT got a lot more amusement out of the school day than they would normally do. Still, it seemed that she had done _something_, the result of which made it clear that the Headmaster would no longer be lenient with her. If she said she would tell him what happened later, then he would have to wait for that, no matter how curious he was.

As soon as they were dismissed for the day, Lloyd turned to speak to Elizabeth, only to find she had somehow left the classroom before he had without him noticing. She must be outside then. As he got close to the main doors a hand tugged at his arm, pulling him around the corner and out of sight of the doors. For a girl who was so much smaller and younger than he was, Elizabeth was certainly stronger than expected. Elizabeth looked around nervously to check that the corridor was empty, before telling Lloyd what had occurred in a low, fast voice.

"I wanted to know why assembly was so important, so I got myself out the library and went to have a look. You were wrong about what they do in there, they weren't watching films. They were listening to what the Headmaster was reading from a book."

Lloyd blinked, rather taken aback. He would never have imagined that a girl who was normally so quiet and wary would investigate something that he and SPLAT had been curious about for _years_. He frowned.

"Did anything else happen in there?"

At this question, Elizabeth suddenly tensed, opening her mouth and shutting it a few times, as if she were reluctant to reveal something more. Eventually she admitted:

"I didn't get to see much more. I get these panic attacks you see, if I'm around too many people all at once, and one flared up as I was looking through the doors. By the time I'd shaken it off, Jeff had caught me, then..."

Here she paused, flushing slightly.

"Well, I panicked and did something stupid. I ran away from Jeff, so he and Sarah ended up having to chase me down. Not that _they_ were the ones to catch me. It was-"

Again, Elizabeth abruptly stopped her narrative, but Lloyd could guess only too well who had caught her, and finished her sentence.

"The Headmaster caught you."

_Now_, at last, he understood why she had been so terrified when the Headmaster had brought her back. For some reason, he attached a great deal of importance on assembly, which even Elizabeth's observation didn't reveal much about. He would not have been pleased to discover that someone was observing a session that they were barred from attending. Having to chase her would only have increased his anger. Lloyd shuddered, not at all surprised that Elizabeth had fallen apart like she had after the Headmaster had gone. It had seemed that the Headmaster had only been a hairsbreadth from utterly unleashing his temper.

Lloyd dragged himself out of his thoughts, noting that Elizabeth seemed nervous and uncertain after revealing so much information to him. He smiled reassuringly, clapping her on the shoulder in a friendly fashion.

"Come on, that's over and done with now. Let's go see if we can find Mr Brent, I'm sure you want to get home quickly this afternoon."

Her nervous smile confirmed that this was correct, and the two of them headed for the main doors. Had they possessed any notion who was watching them, Elizabeth would not have revealed anything at all to Lloyd.

The Headmaster stared thoughtfully after them, having made sure to move close enough to hear them only when Elizabeth had been preoccupied with talking, and would be too busy to notice his scent. He was incensed that she would reveal what she had seen to one of the troublemakers, but had to admire her quick thinking. She had come up with a plausible enough answer for her sensory overload outside the hall, one which Lloyd Hunter had seemingly believed. Well, she had not seen enough to cause any damage to his plans, but he would have to isolate her from that group if she discovered anything damaging. He could not allow _anyone_ to find out what he was doing.

* * *

><p>For the next few days, Elizabeth made an extra effort the keep her head down and stay out of trouble. Apart from a few snide and caustic remarks aimed at Rose during the extra work sessions, she did not draw attention to herself. She was well aware that she was on <em>very <em>thin ice where the Headmaster was concerned, one more broken rule or attempt to cause trouble, and the aftermath would be exceedingly unpleasant. Her efforts to stay out of trouble would soon be frustrated by something that she _couldn't_ control: the weather. The past few days had been quite chilly, and on Sunday night the temperature dropped a great deal, resulting in a blanket of quite a good amount of snow on the Monday morning. While other children her age might greatly enjoy the snow, and all the fun that could result from it, Elizabeth did not. Her non-human side must be a creature that thrived in hot weather, or was cold-blooded, as she found the cold temperatures extremely unpleasant to endure.

When she entered the playground just before school and made her way to Lloyd's circle, she moved noticeably slower than normal. When she arrived at the circle, not much could be seen of Elizabeth at all. Only her ears and her nose could be seen, she had her hat pulled down so far that it was resting on her dark glasses, and her scarf was covering her mouth. Smiling at Elizabeth in welcome, Lloyd made sure to keep his voice low as he began to make plans to play in the snow after school. He was well aware they would not be able to do this anywhere near the school, and determined to organise an activity where SPLAT and Elizabeth could relax, after the stresses of last week. He also knew that Harvey longed to play in the snow, and was miserable that he couldn't do so any sooner. While SPLAT discussed this plan in excited whispers, Harvey especially, Elizabeth remained silent, shivering slightly. Lloyd couldn't see much of her face, but her attitude was one of irritated misery.

Ian was also aware of her despondent mood, and decided to do something about it. Grinning, he drawled:

"Lizzie here doesn't need to join our discussion, she's planning how to ambush us with our guard down. We won't stand a chance against her snowball tactics!"

As he had intended, this remark startled Elizabeth out of her miserable preoccupation with how cold it was, surprising a muffled giggle out of her. Pulling her scarf down slightly, she responded to Ian with a grin that included Harvey, whispering:

"Yeah, but I won't be alone, I have the snowball mastermind to help me!"

Her comment produced a wave of hastily muffled laughter, with even Lloyd chuckling at what she had said. Harvey was happy that Elizabeth had included him, as he sometimes felt overshadowed by the rest of SPLAT, especially his older brother. He grinned back at her shyly, before frowning, and crossly wishing it was the end of school so he could start the snowball fight. The group's amusement was rapidly checked as the Prefects ordered them inside. Elizabeth joined her line behind Lloyd, her weather-related misery returning, as they were one of the last lines to leave the playground. She knew the school was well heated, but was dreading morning break, which was unusual for her. She was only glad that they all stayed inside at lunch time. She would soon be wishing that she hadn't emerged for morning break at all.

* * *

><p>When the six of them formed the usual circle at the beginning of morning break, Elizabeth kept a worried eye on Harvey. He seemed very restless and agitated, and she was concerned that he would do something stupid. Like that morning, she lapsed back into near-silence, occasionally releasing a muffled, one-word answer when the others made vain attempts to include her in what they were discussing. Her worry over Harvey and the cold weather made her very grumpy and irritable, causing her to utterly rebuff the next few remarks that were addressed to her, and she didn't speak another word after that.<p>

While the others were distracted over Elizabeth's silence, Harvey took that opportunity to slip away, to where Dinah Glass had been making a pile of snowballs. He was utterly tired of having to wait until after school to play in the snow, and wanted to make some more snowballs to add to Dinah's pile. As well as this, he was feeling rather sorry for her, since Lloyd was being very nasty to her and he wanted to make an effort to be friendly, even if she _was_ one of 'Them'. Elizabeth had been gazing moodily around the playground, and quickly spotted that Harvey would shortly get himself into massive trouble if he wasn't stopped. Grabbing at Lloyd's arm, she hissed:

"Quick! You need to stop Harvey!"

Lloyd didn't waste time asking what she meant, and bounded across the playground as quickly as he could. Elizabeth watched anxiously, as Lloyd reached Harvey in time to smack the snowballs he had made out of his hands. She felt a great amount of relief that Lloyd had stopped him in time, which quickly turned to horror as Harvey picked up two more snowballs. From behind her, she heard Ian shout in warning:

"Watch out you lot!"

But his warning was too late. Harvey threw the snowballs, causing them to splatter on the coats of his brother and Dinah Glass. Elizabeth released a frenzied squeak, her eyes widening in horror when the Prefects ordered the three of them to stand in front of them just below the steps which led to the school. This horror quickly turned to rage as she heard what the Prefects were ordering them to do, and she started forward, intending to let the Prefects know her displeasure in messing with Harvey. However, just in time, her progress was halted by Ian, Mandy and Ingrid, who were determined to stop her getting into any more trouble. Ingrid desperately wrapped her arms around Elizabeth's waist, while Mandy, took hold of her left arm. Ian managed to grip her right arm, and murmured soothingly in her ear, trying to get her to calm down. As the Rose called for the school to form lines, what was left of SPLAT managed to calm Elizabeth enough that she got into line and did not attempt to reach the Prefects, only her clenched hands and rigid posture betraying her rage.

That rage continued to simmer when she got to class, as unfortunately, she was seated next to one of the windows, and could see into the playground. When Mr Venables had his back turned, she quickly looked out of the window, and had to stop herself from gasping out loud. Lloyd, Harvey and Dinah were out in the playground without _any _of their outdoor garments, and were engaged in sweeping the snow that was lying on the playground into a single heap. Elizabeth forced herself to return to her work, afraid that she would lose control if she watched anymore of the cruel punishment the three of them had to suffer through.

She managed to keep her composure for at least half of the lesson, but was undone by what she witnessed when she next looked out of the window. The Prefects had all emerged into the playground now, and Elizabeth watched in horror as they pushed Lloyd, Harvey and Dinah into the large pile of snowballs they had been forced to make. Dinah was the first one to recover, and Elizabeth grinned as Dinah began to shout at Rose. That was good, at least Harvey had another person on his side. She rapidly lost her smile, however, when Rose pointed and she saw the Headmaster watching the scene on the playground through his office window. Her anger, which she had successfully dampened for a while, returned in full force. He knew. He _knew_ how cruelly the Perfects were treating Harvey, yet he just stood there and watched? Well _she_ wasn't going to put up with it! Through gritted teeth, she asked Mr Venables if she could be excused to go to the toilet. He agreed, apparently not suspecting that she was planning to go elsewhere.

Stamping angrily through the corridors, Elizabeth saw that the Headmaster was curiously out in the open, looking in the direction of the staircase where Elizabeth had been caught last week. He turned quickly when she began shouting at him, not caring in the least what she said.

"You! What the _hell_ is wrong with you, letting the Prefects treat Harvey like that?! You _know_ he's asthmatic, and you let the Prefects punish him in a way that endangers his health! Why can't you leave him alone? He's not at all a threat to you! You're nothing more than a bully who like to abuse his power! You-"

Here, Elizabeth's furious tirade devolved rapidly into a stream of the worst swearwords she could think of. Her rage began building too quickly for her to stop it, but right now, she didn't care.

* * *

><p>The Headmaster was rendered speechless by Elizabeth's sudden verbal assault, and it took a while for him to pull himself together. Just as the Headmaster furiously inhaled to reprimand Elizabeth, she completely lost control of her anger and released a roar of rage, knocking the breath from him in a cough as she punched him hard in the chest. For a moment he was utterly stunned by her action, incredulous that such a small girl was capable of punching him that hard. She was <em>8 years old<em>, she should _not_ be able to use that amount of force. As he made an effort to fend off her furious punches, he concluded that her non-human side seemingly manifested itself when she was utterly enraged, thus providing her with a strength that she did not normally have. At least she had apparently forgotten about her claws, otherwise she might have injured him badly.

Her furious screams would soon be attracting attention, and the Headmaster wanted to get her to his office so he could deal with her behaviour privately. Even though he was so angry with her, it was imperative that he keep the ordinary, narrow-minded people from discovering what she was, otherwise he would no longer be able to study her. He would do so now.

Swiftly, he spun her around so that her back was against his chest, before wrapping his arms around her chest and waist and lifting her bodily off the floor. In this position she couldn't punch him anymore, and couldn't stop him from moving her wherever he wanted. With a dark, thunderous expression on his face, the Headmaster carried her effortlessly towards his office, doing his best to ignore her furious howls. He was so focussed on holding onto the struggling, kicking girl that he failed to notice that he was being watched.

Lloyd had been helping Harvey back to his classroom, when they had heard angry howls, and watched in astonishment as Elizabeth did something that they had wanted to do from their first day of school, and punched the Headmaster. Lloyd couldn't help but admire her bravery, although Harvey was worried about what would happen to her. Sadly, Elizabeth didn't get to punch the Headmaster for much longer, and the Hunter brothers watched in dismay as the Headmaster got the upper hand. He easily lifted Elizabeth and began to carry her towards his office. Despite Harvey's weakened state, he wanted to go and help her, as he was afraid of what the Headmaster would do to her. Lloyd had sadly vetoed the suggestion, as he was sure that the Headmaster would lock the door, and there would be no way of getting in.

Once inside his office, the Headmaster slammed the door shut and locked it, wanting no-one to witness the next few hours. He wanted to make Elizabeth thoroughly understand what she had done wrong, and how much she had angered him. However, right now she was in no state for this to occur, still howling angrily, and now kicking his legs, as she couldn't punch him any longer. The Headmaster knew what to do now, something he wished he _had _done after he caught her spying on assembly. This would both demonstrate his anger, and hopefully shock her out of her tantrum.

Tucking her securely under one arm, he cracked his hand as hard as he could against her backside. As if the Headmaster had thrown a switch, Elizabeth's angry screams were instantly silenced. She hung limply against his side, panting and quivering slightly. Abruptly, he dropped her onto the carpet, causing her glasses to fall off from her impact with the floor. The Headmaster glared down at her, his hands clenched into fists, before he released a roar of fury that caused Elizabeth to flatten herself against the carpet in terror.

"HOW DARE YOU ACT THIS WAY TOWARDS ME! I HAVE PROTECTED YOU FROM DISCOVERY SINCE YOU FIRST ARRIVED IN MY SCHOOL, YET YOU DO _THIS_ TO ME?!"

Elizabeth rapidly retreated across the floor, cowering against the front of the Headmaster's desk as she reached it. The Headmaster glared down at her before stamping across his office to open the door behind his desk. Elizabeth buried her head in shaking hands, too terrified even to cry, flinching as the door the Headmaster opened slammed against the wall. He stamped back towards her, hauling her off the floor and carrying her to the door he had opened, dropping her in the doorway. Yanking her hands away from her face and gripping her wrists in a single hand, he turned on the light, revealing what was inside the doorway. It was nothing more than a small toilet, complete with a sink, but what worried Elizabeth was what the Headmaster was doing.

Laying a paper towel by the sink, he seized the bottle of liquid soap that was on the side and poured a liberal amount onto the towel. Closing the bottle, he snarled a furious instruction at her, which she obeyed at once. He might not be shouting any longer, but his anger had not diminished, and Elizabeth was too terrified to even _think_ about disobeying him.

"_Open your mouth!_ The _first_ thing I will deal with is that _disgusting_ language you used to address me. _I will not put up with such language!_"

Immediately he scrubbed her mouth with the soap-laden paper towel, making sure that the soap would linger. As he pulled it out, Elizabeth gagged and looked as if she would try and spit out the soap. Instantly she felt the Headmaster's large, cold hand seize her jaw, clamping it shut. She whimpered, the disgusting taste saturating her tongue, made ten times worse by her enhanced sense of taste. She struggled not to swallow any of the soap, her eyes fixed on the Headmaster's dark glasses, pleading silently with him to let her get rid of the soap. Just when she thought she couldn't endure another _second_ of this, the Headmaster let go of her jaw and her wrists, turning on the tap and handing her a glass. She snatched it, rinsing her mouth as thoroughly as she could, wanting to get rid of the horrendous taste. As she made to rinse a second time, the Headmaster seized her wrist and jerked the glass from her hand, turning off the tap.

Gripping her shoulder with a force that made her wince, the Headmaster pulled Elizabeth into a corner of his office, ensuring that she was facing the wall and could not see anything else. When he next spoke it was in a voice that froze Elizabeth to her very core. He was clearly still furious, but now his fury was controlled, and aimed at her.

"_You_ are going to be standing in this corner for the next _two hours_. I want you to think about what you _should_ have done instead of attacking and swearing at me. If you even _attempt_ to move from there, things will become painful for you."

He let go of her and she heard his chair creak as he sat down behind his desk. Elizabeth trembled slightly, frightened by what he had threatened. What made it worse was that he hadn't _specified_ what he would do, so her overactive imagination was coming up with terrifying possibilities and increasing her fear. She had never realised before how hard it was completing a single action. Now that she absolutely _had_ to keep still, she was finding it very difficult to do so. She wished she was brave enough to try and sneak a look at her watch, but right now she didn't dare. She had no way of knowing how much longer she had to stand in this corner, but she was not going to try and move from it until the Headmaster confirmed that two hours had elapsed. She had already provoked him far too much already today.

As she stared at the wall, an awful possibly loomed in her mind. Would the Headmaster tell Wally what she had done? True, he hadn't told him about her spying on assembly it seemed, even then he had been willing to show at least that small amount of mercy. But now, after she had sworn at the Headmaster, as well as attacking him? She had a feeling that any mercy the Headmaster might have been prepared to show her before she caused so much trouble was long gone. He had already demonstrated this, simply by the amount of punishments he had already administered, and he clearly wasn't done with her yet.

She wasn't in the least afraid of Wally, even if he was angry with her, but she hated to disappoint him, and she would certainly do that with the behaviour she had displayed today. Another appalling possibility dropped into her head. What if Wally decided that she had caused too much trouble in this school, and sent her elsewhere? Even though she had her troubles with Rose and the Prefects, St Campion's was the best school she had ended up in so far, with a person in the ultimate authority who was on her side when it came to her status as a hybrid, and the beginnings of friendship from Lloyd and his group.

These depressing and terrible thoughts hammered through Elizabeth's mind, causing her a great deal of misery, as she could not stop dwelling on them. Added to this was that the Headmaster was still so furious with her, when he had been so benevolent before. Her eyes stung with unshed tears, as she struggled to hold them back. The last straw came when the sting from her bottom flared up again, reminding her how hard the Headmaster had swatted her earlier. Before she could stop anything emerging, a hoarse, choked sob burst from her. As if this had opened a gate, it was swiftly followed by a great deal more, no matter how hard she tried to silence them.

There was an angry rustle of papers from the Headmaster's desk, and his irritated, incensed chastisement made Elizabeth jump.

"_Cease that dreadful noise at once!_ I will _not_ have my work interrupted, _especially _not by you. If you do _not_ stop, I will come over there and give you something tangible to cry about!"

Elizabeth immediately slapped her hands over her mouth, attempting to muffle her sobs, fearful of what the Headmaster had just threatened. Now that her crying was effectively silenced, the Headmaster appeared to have been placated for the moment, as he did not move from his desk, as Elizabeth had feared he might do. She may have silenced any audible effects, but it was obvious by the way she was jerking slightly that her crying had not abated.

As he finally finished the section of paperwork he had been completing, the Headmaster glanced at his watch, noting that an hour had elapsed since he had put Elizabeth in the corner of his office. He looked up at her, pleased that she was no longer interrupting him through her noisy crying. He frowned. He could only see her from the back, but it was clear that she was _still _crying, albeit silently. Surely she should have stopped by now? He growled under his breath. If she was crying, she would not be concentrating on what she _should_ be thinking about. Frustrating as it was having to waste his time in calming her down, it would provide its benefits later.

Elizabeth was so focussed on silencing her crying, that she was very startled when the Headmaster gripped her shoulder, turning her towards him. She cringed, fearful of what he would do now. Had she interrupted him? If she had been startled before, what he did next utterly stunned her. Somewhat impatiently, he thrust his handkerchief into her hand. She sobbed into it, the material becoming soaked in only a few moments. She was surprised once again when he loosened his grip on her shoulder, patting it gingerly. This action, combined with him giving her his handkerchief, eroded her misery, and she sniffled and whimpered her way into a somewhat sodden state of calm. The Headmaster waited until she had completely stopped crying, before carefully retrieving his handkerchief and disposing of it neatly. He was clearly still angry, but was not displaying the same amount of utter rage that he had shown before.

"Do not think that this small respite has released you from your time in this corner. You still have an hour left. Do_ not_ interrupt me again."

At her wary nod, he spun her around until she was facing the wall again, returning to his desk. Hopefully she would not do anything else that interrupted his work. He still had a great deal to do.

Elizabeth was no longer so terrified, but was now becoming thoroughly bored. She mentally groaned. She had an hour of this left, an _hour_ of having nothing to do except stare at the wall. She hoped the time would pass quickly, as she didn't want to dwell too much on her worries again.


End file.
